Celbridge Manor HotelCelbridge

Event Details

Friends of Lucan Disability Action Group present in concert The Island of Ireland Peace Choir and Soloist Kathryn Smith at Celbridge Manor Hotel on Saturday 6th October 2018.

The Choir and Kathryn are generously donating their time to help fundraise for Lucan Disability Action Group and other local charities.

Celbridge Manor are generously hosting the event. The concert starts at 7:30pm and tickets are available from (087) 7952271.

This event promises to be a wonderful evening of song, hosted in the historic Celbridge Manor, and an opportunity for the people of Celbridge, Maynooth, Leixlip and Lucan to enjoy spellbinding music close to home.

A date for your diary, not to be missed.

The evening will be great fun and you will know you are supporting local charities for example Lucan Disability Action Group who provide accessible transport in Dublin City, South & West Dublin, Kildare and Meath, operating eight buses delivering a door to door service seven days a week.

The Island of Ireland Peace Choir was formed in the wake of an atrocity in Omagh on August 15th, 1998. The level of revulsion throughout Ireland was so strong that people realised that it was time for ordinary citizens to step in from the side-lines and become active participants in the process of breaking down traditional divisions on this island.

The Peace Choir's inspiration comes from a young woman, Claire Gallagher, who was only 15 on the day the bomb struck and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The shrapnel from the bomb that exploded in the car close to where Claire was standing was to deprive Claire of the chance of ever seeing again. She remained defiant and is now married to Ryan with two lovely boys Oran and Conor and a baby girl, Cara. Claire has recently opened her own Music Academy in Omagh and she readily admits that it was her love of music and her family and friends that sustained her through her many dark days. After singing at her wedding in June 2007, Claire asked if the group could keep together and try to ensure that our sound and our message lived on beyond that day.

Since then the Choir has performed in concerts throughout Ireland, most recently for President Higgins at the 1916 celebrations at the Garden of Remembrance and and the Wieliczka Salt Mines near Krakow in July 2017. They've also performed at Stormont, The Odyssey Arena, Belfast, at the Iveagh House, Dublin and had the honour of singing the National Anthems at the Ireland England Soccer International in the Aviva Stadium. The choir also travel outside Ireland and visited Sri Lanka to visit the Children’s Homes that they raised funding for following the Indian Ocean tsunami.

About Kathryn SmithKathryn Smith, a native of Dublin, now living in Celbridge, Co.Kildare, is one of Ireland's most versatile and renowned performers. Kathryn is a Singing Tutor and Examiner at the Leinster School of Music & Drama, Griffith College. She teaches voice at the Music Department Maynooth University, where she also enjoys working the Choral Society. She is part of the formation team at the Seminary in Maynooth College, working closely with the Seminarians, where she enjoys teaching voice and effective communications.

Kathryn is much in demand for her wonderful performances, both in Ireland and internationally. She is renown for her repertoire of opera, operetta, & oratorio and has performed principal roles with major companies in Ireland, France, the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong & Tokyo.

Her concert career has also taken her to many parts of the Ireland and the world including performances at the prestigious Carnegie Hall N.Y., the Boston Symphony Hall, The State Theatre, New Jersey, to name but a few, as part of an American Tour of The Irish Ring Operas. She has also enjoyed working with the Irish Director, Jim Sheridan, when she sang the Role of Aida in his enterprising production of 'The Risen People' at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin, where the Opera 'Aida' was doubled with the play.

Kathryn has a broad range of recording experience, and throughout her career has recorded a variety of music with the RTE Philharmonic & Concert Orchestras.

Kathryn is also a renown teacher, and has trained many of her students to professional level. Her students have gone on to enjoy great acclaim throughout Ireland, the United States, The West End and The River Dance Companies. She is the voice teacher of Lucy O'Byrne who scored great success in The Voice UK, transmitted by the BBC.

About Lucan Disability Action GroupLucan Disability Action Group aim to facilitate independent living in the Greater Dublin area. They deliver a door to door affordable, accessible transport service. Their drivers are on the road from 7am to 11pm Monday through Sunday, operating eight buses which each accommodate three wheelchair and four seated passengers. They also provide a self-drive transport service for members which importantly includes insurance. The car accommodates one wheelchair and three/four seated passengers. Their Personal Assistant's support our members in their own home or in residential homes. Their Education Support Service supports students in third level education.